VI-XVII
by Reincarnations
Summary: Kazui finally notices his father's change in behavior after so many years.


**This is an idea I had when I read the third volume of the manga again. If you don't like it, oh well. It doesn't affect me.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

The day had come once again when Ichigo would be extremely happy for no apparent reason. This time his little boy Kazui, who was twelve years old, noticed his change in personality. Instead of asking his father about it, Kazui went to his mother when Ichigo wasn't in the room.

Orihime smiled sadly when her son asked the question. "I had noticed his change a few years ago on this day as well. It is only on this day when his personality changes and his childhood friend had praised me for figuring it out so quickly since it took her three years to notice."

"Childhood friend?" Kazui repeated before he suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! You mean Aunt Tatsuki!"

Orihime giggled, but it didn't have the usual cheerfulness to it. "That's right, Kazui, although there was a time that Tatsuki had gotten so angry at him, she actually hurt him."

"She did?" Kazui couldn't believe that because Ichigo and Tatsuki acted like they were loving siblings. Heck, Kazui had thought they were twins since they were born a day apart from each other and even asked why they didn't have the same last name.

"That's a story for another time," Orihime reassured her little boy. "For now, we are talking about your father's personality change. You see, it always changes on this day because of tomorrow's anniversary."

"What anniversary's tomorrow?"

Orihime pondered on what to say to not make the truth seem depressing, so she asked a question, "Do you remember your grandmother's name?"

"You mean Dad's mom?" Kazui questioned for clarification. "It's Masaki, right?"

"Yes. You see, tomorrow is the anniversary of the day she was killed."

Kazui's face was drained of color and no sound could be produced from his mouth. After a few minutes, he was finally able to say, "How?"

"I can't tell you that," she insisted. "I don't know the full story myself, but it's not my right to tell you if I did know it. If you want to know the whole story, you'll have to ask your father for it."

* * *

 _'Is it true?' I've seen ghosts for as long as I can remember. I see them so clearly that, I couldn't tell the difference between the living and the dead when I was little. So I'm used to questions like that. Usually, if I laugh it off, they drop it. It didn't seem like a big problem. That's what I always thought until that day._

 _I never saw her cry or get mad. Not even once. Parents' moods have a big effect on their kids. I think she knew that. Whatever happened to me, if I was with her, I was okay. And not just me. Yuzu and Karin, who were four at the time, and Dad all loved her as much as I did. She was the center of our universe._

 _Dad told me my name means 'one who protects'. That's when I remember thinking I wanted to protect my mother who always protected me._

 _It was raining that day. It had rained hard the day before, too. And the day before that. So the river was way up. But this girl was standing there with no umbrella. Standing there like she was deciding whether or not to jump. And back then I couldn't tell the dead from the living._

 _I didn't see what cut her. Maybe it was a piece of glass or a bent piece of metal hanging from a passing bus. But she died trying to protect me. And the girl was gone._

 _I loved my mother. And not just me. Yuzu and Karin, who were four at the time and Dad all loved her as much as I did. She was the center of our universe. I tore the heart out of our universe. Me!_

Kazui heard the front door open and Ichigo calling his name. Kazui moved his father's old journal back to it originally was before heading downstairs. After talking to his dad about not what he originally wanted, Kazui went over to his Aunt Tatsuki's.

* * *

"When was it that he stopped smiling?" Tatsuki started as she was about to begin the long explanation. "I met him when we were four at the dojo we used to go to. He had the brightest hair and the biggest most beautiful mother-he always held her hand."

"Even more beautiful than mom?" Kazui questioned in amazement.

Tatsuki giggled at the boy's innocence. "I'd say they are about the same beauty now. He was scrawny and smiled all the time. A total wimp. He was really weak, too. And when he lost, he'd start crying.

"In fact, I was the first one in the dojo to make him cry. Just one high kick! It took me less than ten seconds! But as soon as he saw his mother when she came to pick him up, he'd get this big grin on his face.

"I hated that. I mean, what kind of boy smiles when he loses? I'd see that grin and think, 'What a baby, clinging to his mommy.' But, he seemed so happy. His smile was sweet. That's how he was in the beginning.

"His mother died when he was nine. I was only nine myself. I didn't understand. Anyways, he was nine, but still clinging to his mommy like a baby chimp. Then she died.

"He didn't show up at school for a while. So I went looking for him. I found him by the river where his died, walking around with his little backpack, from morning to night. Like he was looking for her. When he got tired, he'd squat down for a while. Then he'd get up and continue his search; everyday, from morning to night. I couldn't stand to see Ichigo like that."

"So what did you do?" Kazui wondered. "Did you help him?"

Tatsuki gave him the same sad smile his mother gave to him. "I waited until his dad finally dragged him back to their house. I came by about an hour later because his dad had asked my parents if I could in an attempt to cheer him up. He did something that he hasn't done again for over twenty years."

"Which is what?"

"Well as soon as he saw me at the door, he cracked." Tatsuki confessed as she slowly started to tell the whole truth. "His eyes started watering like they never had before. He ran over to me and gave me a giant tight hug as he started to cry his heart out on my shoulder. His dad left the room and let us stay like until Ichigo couldn't cry anymore. He apologized after he finally stopped and made me promise not to tell anyone that happened."

"Then why did you tell me?"

"You have the right to know." Tatsuki insisted. "However, I think it would be best if you asked him for the whole story and preferably today."

* * *

After arriving home through his bedroom window, Kazui was at the top of the stairs when he heard his parents talking in the kitchen. Their voices were in hushed whispers, but he heard a handful of words; for example 'Kazui' and 'Masaki's death'. He waited a couple minutes to see if he could make out anything else. When Kazui didn't, he walked down the steps and stopped at the kitchen entrance.

"Dad?" He asked which caused his parents to look at him. "How exactly did Grandma Masaki die?"

"You are too young to know." Ichigo insisted as he bluntly denied to answer the question.

"Why not?" Kazui wondered as he could feel his father's spiritual pressure rise ever so slightly. "Aunt Karin and Aunt Yuzu were four when she died and Aunt Tatsuki was nine at the time, not even blood related, yet she knows more than the twins and me."

"You don't have a right to know."

The comment only made Kazui angry because it was along the same lines that his mother said and the exact opposite of what his aunt said. "Fine, if you don't tell me then I'll just ask Urahara."

"He doesn't-"

"He knows about a lot more things than you," Kazui argued. "You know as well as I do, he'd tell me in a heartbeat if I ask him."

The father-son duo glared at each other, but Ichigo denied, "I will not tell you-"

Ichigo never finished his statement, because the front door was slammed shut by his son.


End file.
